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Palestine

August 4, 2026

Ramallah 6:27 pm

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Palestinian Hamas militants arrive to secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages -an Israeli soldier and a Thai national- from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Analysis

How Hamas disarmament deal may test Iran's regional strategy

A possible Hamas decision to disarm would represent more than a Gaza development, testing Iran's decades-old strategy of projecting power through regional allies.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Flags of Spain and Argentina

Culture

How Argentina-Spain World Cup final became debate over Israel, Palestine

Governments and fans alike have turned teams and players into symbols of political division.

Latest News

Explainer

What does Hamas' move to dissolve its Gaza government mean?

Government Media Office Director Ismail Thawabteh (R) and Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem (L) speak at a press conference.

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank

Israeli security forces attempt to disperse Palestinians who had gathered to protest the reported burning of land by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Idna, west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on June 5, 2026.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Daoud Kuttab

Palestine Columnist

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Fatima AbdulKarim

In Ramallah, reporting on the West Bank

$Israeli men and women, separated by a green divider, pray in the town of Elad, home of Eyal Yifrach, one of three missing teenagers, June 16, 2014. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared Israel for a long drawn-out operation to find the three missing teenagers as troops expanded the search into a crackdown on the Islamist group accused of abducting them and arrested dozens of its officials. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3U421$

Youths' abduction stirs Israeli sympathy for settlers

Politicians from both the right and the left are sympathizing with the families of the abducted youths in an unusual wave of empathy from the Israeli public toward the settlers at this moment of national distress.

Israeli Arab lawmaker Haneen Zoabi (L) waits before a hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem December 27, 2012. Zoabi appealed to the Supreme Court after Israel's electoral authority barred her from re-election on December 19, saying she had supported the nation's enemies by joining a protest ship that tried to break a naval blockade of Gaza. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3BXBA

Knesset member Zoabi says kidnappers 'aren't terrorists'

Knesset member Haneen Zoabi has decided to continue to focus more on provocation than on action.

Young Palestinians swim in a pool as they take part in a military-style exercise at a summer camp organized by the Hamas movement in Gaza City June 12, 2014. Hamas stages dozens of military-style summer camps for young Palestinians in Gaza strip to prepare them to confront any possible Israeli attack, organisers said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3TFW5

Hamas summer camps for kids include military training

Hamas is keen to retain its influence in Palestinian society, and is using its annual summer camps to stay connected with Gaza youth.

Palestinians lean against a car as Israeli soldiers take part in an operation to locate three Israeli teens in the West Bank City of Hebron June 17, 2014. Israel decided on Tuesday to widen a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank after troops detained more than 40 members of the Palestinian Islamist group in sweeps conducted in tandem with a search for the three missing Jewish teenagers. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3UAUQ

Kidnapping of Israeli boys 'no joke' for Palestinians

Israel is tightening its grip on the West Bank and intensifying mock air raids over the Gaza Strip, as Palestinians anticipate an Israeli response to the June 12 kidnappings.

Gaza’s poor rummage through garbage for food

Widespread poverty in the Gaza Strip has forced some of the most desperate to dig through dumpsters to feed their families.

An Israeli soldier blindfolds of a Palestinian suspected of throwing stones as he detains him during clashes in the West Bank City of Hebron June 16, 2014. Israeli armed forces swept through half a dozen Palestinian towns on Monday and arrested more Hamas officials, expanding a search for three teenagers into a crackdown on the Islamist group accused of abducting them. Most of the military efforts have been concentrated in Hebron, a Hamas stronghold.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL U

Netanyahu, Abbas can avoid next abduction

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should engage Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on both diplomacy and security to better manage future crises.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a news conference in Tel Aviv June 15, 2014. Israel said on Sunday Hamas militants had abducted three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank, warning of "serious consequences" as it pressed on with a search and detained dozens of Palestinians. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3TVSJ

Kidnappings put Netanyahu back on offense

The abduction of teenagers in the Hebron region puts an end to Netanyahu’s political hard times, and, without a dominant defense minister such as Ehud Barak at his side, he is seen, even by the left, as a balanced authority on matters of security and leadership.

A Palestinian protester holding a Palestinian flag heads a soccer ball next to Israeli border police during a demonstration in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, outside Israel's Ofer military prison near Ramallah June 11, 2014. Israel's parliament has given initial approval to a law to enable the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike, drawing defiance from activists who said on Tuesday it would not deter the inmates. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BAN

FIFA to monitor Israeli violations against Palestinian soccer

The international soccer federation has not sanctioned Israel for its violations against Palestinian soccer, instead giving a committee until December to monitor developments.

A Palestinian protester returns a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops, during a protest in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah June 13, 2014. Some 120 Palestinians held by Israel began refusing food on April 24 in protest at their detention without trial. Since then the number has risen closer to 300. Israel's Prisons Service says 70 have been hospitalised. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNRES

Netanyahu wrong to blame Abbas for kidnapping

Israel should rethink its Palestinian prisoner detention policy.

An Israeli soldier looks at Palestinians inside a vehicle near the West Bank city of Hebron June 14, 2014. Israel sent more troops to the occupied West Bank on Saturday to step up searches for three Israeli teenagers believed to have been abducted by Palestinians, with a military source saying it was not known if they were dead or alive. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR3TRKI

Fatah leader on kidnappings: 'Everyone is in big trouble now'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, senior Fatah official Fares Qadura warns of escalation, saying that everyone knows that Israel will not negotiate a prisoners exchange for the three kidnapped youths.

Palestinians sit outside their house as Israeli soldiers patrol near the West Bank City of Hebron June 15, 2014. Israel said on Sunday Hamas militants had abducted three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank, warning of "serious consequences" as it pressed on with a search and detained dozens of Palestinians. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR3TVBR

Hamas denies role in kidnapping

The group's leaders, however, anticipate a severe confrontation with Israel.

Netanyahu's kidnapping nightmare leads to refocus on Hamas

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers may vindicate his tough stance on Hamas.